Safety Precautions To Take While Buying Cannabis During COVID-19

Published on May 18, 2020, By Marie Graham

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way people go about their daily lives, including how and where they work, shop, and eat. Just like buying groceries and toilet paper, cannabis shopping is a regular activity for hundreds of thousands of adults in the United States.

While many dispensaries have increased sanitary practices to keep employees and customers safe, it is the social responsibility of each and every person to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Hand sanitizer stations and tape or chalk marking distances of six feet have become a common sight to see since the beginning of the pandemic, but there are only so many steps dispensaries can take to protect shoppers and workers. Customers are also responsible for taking their own safety precautions while buying cannabis during the novel times of COVID-19.

The good news is that there are at least a few different measures that shoppers can take to buy weed more safely, and a few of those suggestions are listed below.

Utilize Online Ordering

Many cannabis dispensaries throughout the United States were already offering online-ordering before the coronavirus hit and even more have started using it since. There are several different online ordering platforms, which vary from state to state. To find out if you can order online at your favorite dispensary, visit the shop’s website or call to ask. Some shops allow online ordering straight from their business website and others use a third party ordering platform. In many cases, curbside pickup can be utilized after placing an order online, eliminating the need to even go inside at all.

Online ordering is a great tool for people to reduce human contact, but it also allows shoppers to more thoroughly explore the menu and discover new products without the assumed pressure to order quickly from the next patron in line.

Order Cannabis Delivery

If you can get groceries delivered to your door, why not order weed delivery too? Marijuana sales in many states, like Michigan and Florida, have increased significantly since safer-at-home orders were enacted. In Michigan, the governor even signed an emergency order to allow all licensed cannabis retailers operating in the state to begin offering home delivery after the stay-at-home orders were put in place. A couple of medical marijuana dispensaries in Boulder, CO also started delivering to patients at home.

Medical marijuana was deemed essential in every state where it is legal, and Massachusetts was the only state to order recreational dispensaries to close. Signaling that social distancing isn’t going away anytime soon, even Massachusetts is working on a new law to allow cannabis delivery services once recreational dispensaries are permitted to reopen.

Wear A Mask

Wearing a face mask may not significantly reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19, but it can help to reduce the spread to others by those unknowingly carrying the virus. In a world where you can find face masks to match your likes, personality, and personal style, there is no reason not to sport one.

If you want to be extra cautious, wear gloves as well as a face mask. You may look like something out of a sci-fi movie, but you won’t hear dispensary employees complaining.